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Saturday, 16 August 2014

Valley Press Friday Digest, #16 (Saturday edition)

Slightly delayed digest this week - I forget exactly why, so please insert your own excuse into the following gap: ___________________

Done? Thank you. I hope it was a good one, I know you're not easily convinced.

The big news this week was the arrival of Helen Burke's new book, which I've been going on about for ages, most notably in this post. It's not strictly out until October, but I'm printing early this time, both for promotional purposes and because Helen has a big reading tonight at Keats House, so it seemed silly not to get some copies printed. You can now pre-order the book (and read a generously-sized preview) on its homepage; I've decided to send out pre-orders in September, so you won't have too long to wait, should you wish to order through VP. (Hint: you should.)

Here's the obligatory photo of the book as an object:

I spent much of this week looking for a Woman - the magazine, that is, though I did have some fun going into shops saying: 'Excuse me, do you have a woman?' 'Could you point me in the direction of a woman?' 'I need a woman', etc etc. This was not just for humorous purposes (though that is always a worthy outcome); Sarah Holt was in the latest issue discussing her search for a publisher, an article which I found quite touching. I forget sometimes how difficult it can be for authors to find a publisher, and how much it means when they do. Publishing is a sacred thing; we must respect it and our responsibilities. (Such as, letting you know you can pick up a copy of Sarah's book here).

The larger article was about overcoming adversity and gaining success; 'We had the last laugh' was the title. Victoria Beckham had the first page to herself, and Sarah was joined in her section by Holly Willoughby, Matthew McConaughey and Carol Vorderman. Did you know Carol recently quit ITV1's Loose Women to pursue her dream of flying a plane solo around the world? You do now!

I don't know about the legality of reposting the article here, so what I'll do is close my eyes and start pressing buttons randomly on the keyboard - if something should happen, so be it. See you next week!